


Can I Have This Chance to Be Your Little Romance

by DeGuerre



Series: You And I Are a Gang of Losers [3]
Category: Scandal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dating, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Gen, Love, Romance, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5235557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeGuerre/pseuds/DeGuerre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Fitz unexpectedly has to cancel their third date, Mellie comes up with a little surprise for him.  Part 3 of my "You and I Are a Gang of Losers" series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Have This Chance to Be Your Little Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

Fitz sighed as he continued to flip through channels trying to find something to watch.  It was a pointless activity really.  His mind wasn’t on television; it was on the date that could have been had he not been as careless and stupid as to strain his groin playing football earlier in the day.  It was supposed to be their third date and he had been so embarrassed when he’d explained to Mellie why he needed to cancel.  After he’d alleviated her initial concern and assured her he was fine but in no condition to walk around, she was understanding and sympathetic—but Fitz caught the hint of disappointment in her voice. 

Despite the undesirable nature of their first meeting, they’d turned out to have quite a lot in common.  Surprisingly, their seven year age difference didn’t seem to matter at all.  Mellie was the most mature twenty-one year old he’d ever met, and also the most ambitious.  He could easily see himself falling in love with her one day, but that required spending time with her.  Between her school schedule and his Navy schedule, it would be at least a month before they would be able to reschedule their date.  He didn’t know if he could wait that long.

They’d only been on two dates officially, not counting the night they met, but he had already come to long hearing her laughter.  He thought about calling her, but it wouldn’t be fair to monopolize her night when he couldn’t take her out on the town.  She probably already had other plans anyway—he hoped those plans weren’t with some other guy.  Resigning himself to a boring and lonely night in, he continued to flip through channels before finally settling on some old black & white movie starring Gene Tierney.

He hadn’t been expecting company, so he was surprised when he heard a knock on the door.  Slowly and carefully, he made his way over to answer and received the shock of his life when he opened it to find Mellie on the other side.

“Mellie?  What are you doing here?” he asked, unable to keep the look of surprise of his face.  She was standing there bundled up in boots and a coat—perfectly dressed for a Boston winter—with an arm full of bags.  Even with her nose red and runny from the cold she was stunningly beautiful.  Finally snapping himself out of his shock, he hustled as fast as a man with a pulled groin could to take some of the bags off her hands and usher her inside. 

“Well, after you canceled our date, I didn’t have anything else to do…,” she began as she started to take off her coat and unceremoniously plopped it onto the coat rack near the door.  “…so I thought if we were going to be bored at home alone, we might as well be bored together.  I was starving, so I picked up some food on my way.  How are you feeling?”

“Much better now that I have some company,” he said with a sly smile.  “What’s in the bags? It smells delicious.”

“I was craving something fried, so I picked up fish & chips from Durgin-Park.  I also stopped by Mike’s Pastry for some red velvet cheesecake.  I hope that’s ok with you.”

“That’s perfect, thank you so much.  You didn’t have to do that.” 

“It’s no problem at all.  I wanted to surprise you so I called your mom to get your address.  Do you mind if I go freshen up before we eat?”

“Not at all, the bathroom is the down the hall.  Second door on the right.  I’ll grab some plates and open a bottle of wine.  Meet you in the living room?”

She nodded in the affirmative before disappearing down the hallway.  Fitz couldn’t help but walk away smiling.  The women he’d dated in the past all waited for him to make the decisions about everything, but Mellie was a take charge kind of woman.  He made it to the kitchen as fast as he could and uncorked his best bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.  He poured two glasses then busied himself with plating the food and finding a tray to sit everything on.  By the time he heard Mellie’s footsteps coming down the hallway, he had everything set up on the coffee table in the living room with two big floor pillows at the ready for them to sit on.  His apartment was a little drafty and he was glad he’d decided to get a fire going earlier so she wouldn’t be too cold. 

“Hi,” she said shyly when she made it to the living room.  It suddenly hit her that this was the first time she was truly alone with Fitz.  Their previous dates involved public places and lots of other people milling about, but here it was just her and him.

“Um, hi.  I set everything up on the coffee table.  I’m sorry, I should have asked if you minded sitting on the floor first,” Fitz replied.  He was a bit nervous himself.

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Well, feel free to kick off your shoes and get comfortable if you’d like,” he replied with a smile. 

Fitz eased himself down onto one of the floor pillows while Mellie busied herself with untying the laces on her boots.  He took the opportunity to really drink in the sight of her for the first time that evening.  She was dressed simply and comfortably in thick, black leggings and an oversized grey sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder.  Her dark, curly locks tumbled messily past her shoulders and her face was free of any makeup yet still had a youthful, natural glow.  She was, quite simply, breathtaking.  It wasn’t until he noticed the blush creeping into her cheeks that he realized he’d been staring a little too long.

“I’m sorry I was staring.  You’re just so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she replied demurely.  “Um, we should probably eat before the food gets cold.”

Fitz just smiled and nodded his agreement before they dug into their plates.  They were both starving, so conversation was limited, but comfortable and pleasant.  Mellie caught him up on how her studies were going and he told her as much as he could about life in the Navy.  When they were both too full to take another bite, they dimmed the lights and settled on the sofa to watch a movie.  Mellie chose _The Princess Bride._   It was one of her favorites and Fitz loved it too, but he found himself watching her more than was watching the movie.  There was just something about the way her whole face lit up and her eyes sparkled…and her laughter just seemed to bubble out of her like it couldn’t be contained. 

If he hadn’t been sure before, he was absolutely sure now—he was falling for Melody Vivienne Whitney harder and faster than he’d ever fallen for any woman before.  Mellie cuddled up beside him as the fire slowly burned down and she was asleep on his shoulder before the end credits rolled.  He didn’t have the heart to wake her, so he carefully eased her head from his shoulder to lying in his lap.  He couldn’t resist running his fingers through her hair and lightly massaging her scalp.  He stopped after a few minutes to cover her with the throw that was resting on the back of the sofa, then returned his hand to her hair. 

“Don’t stop,” she whispered softly as he continued his gentle movements.  He wouldn’t dare.  Grabbing the remote with his free hand, he settled in to watch another movie while she slept.


End file.
